A new English language specification for teaching from September 2021 will not include 19th-century fiction extracts in papers, as part of a move to make the qualification more functional and accessible for students.
Pearson Edexcel is launching an English language 2.0 GCSE specification which aims to provide students with “a strong foundation for further academic or vocational pathways through real-world, applicable content”.
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The one-year qualification will support students through a “less traditionally literary pathway” in their English studies and could also be used for students re-sitting English GCSE.
Since the qualifications were reformed, all English language GCSE papers must include unseen 19th century texts.
But the new Pearson papers will use 19th century newspaper articles and instructional writing rather than fiction extracts, selecting “texts with relatable, modern themes”.
And writing tasks will include writing letters of application, to increase focus on functional, “real-world” skills.
Katy Lewis, Pearson’s head of English and drama, said: “Every year, 750,000 people take their English GCSE.
“In consulting with the English teaching community last year, we recognised that a one-size-fits-all approach to English language doesn’t equally suit the needs, interests and progression of all learners.
“We wanted to develop a qualification that was equal but different to the English language GCSEs that are currently available to learners across the UK, while motivating and engaging students to equip themselves with lifelong skills.”
The new specification requires no co-teaching with English literature GCSE, and will also include a more diverse and inclusive range of texts.
Penguin Random House UK will be providing schools and settings taking the new specification with access to a bespoke anthology of texts by contemporary writers and writers of colour, as part of its work with the Lit in Colour programme.
Ruth Rhoden-Farmer, GCSE and functional skills English lecturer at Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group, said: “The new GCSE format and resources will give each student the opportunity to explore visually engaging texts, engage with the English language heritage and apply the techniques they have discovered in their own writing.”
While some English teachers welcomed the increased challenge of the reformed English language GCSEs when they were introduced in 2017, others questioned how accessible they were for students.
Writing in Tes at the time, English teacher Phil Brown said: “The language paper is now far more focused on students’ abilities to engage with prose extracts and respond to both Victorian and modern literary styles.”
He said that while this made English language GCSE more compatible with English literature - with skills for one qualification being directly transferable to another - the increased focus on 19th century texts would limit the range of texts and authors students were likely to encounter.
“With every increased emphasis on ‘the classics’ of British literature, the greater the weighting we are likely to find towards the white male writers who have dominated mainstream literary culture until relatively recently,” he said.
